


A Rose Without Its Thorns

by Zodiac



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Amaurot (Final Fantasy XIV), Amaurotines (Final Fantasy XIV), And Halmarut is a good wingwoman, Ascians (Final Fantasy XIV), Emet-Selch is a tsundere, Flowers, Language of Flowers, M/M, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zodiac/pseuds/Zodiac
Summary: With the anniversary of his relationship with Hythlodaeus fast approaching, Emet-Selch plans on doing something special for it—a date, dinner, flowers, the works. The only problem is, he doesn't know a thing about what flowers would complement each other best. However, hedoesknow someone knowledgeable of all things plant...
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Hythlodaeus
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	A Rose Without Its Thorns

A deep breath. Two.

Emet-Selch currently stood with his feet planted before the door to Halmarut's office, a relatively plain thing as far as Convocation members were concerned. It was a wooden slab that seemed to grow from the walls surrounding it, merging with them so flawlessly that the only giveaways that it  _ was _ a door were the nameplate set in the wall to one side, a knocker carved out of the middle, and a small window set above, one that he was pointedly avoiding as he steeled himself.

The best description of Halmarut's feelings towards him was likely reluctant tolerance; they could work together for the sake of the city, certainly, but personality differences between them kept them as mere acquaintances. Not that it was any surprise, really. His was the ethereal realm of death while hers was the one of verdant, teeming life that sustained all other creatures… or sustained itself off of other creatures, depending on the plant in question.

In any case, it was this realm and knowledge surrounding it that he had need of for his plans.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was keeping in, he raised a hand to grab that knocker and rapped it once, twice. For a moment, he wondered how he was going to open the seamless door had Halmarut simply told him to come in.

But, only for a moment, as he heard a sing-song, "Coming~" from the other side before it was pulled inwards, revealing the Arbiter herself. Upon recognizing him, her cheery expression quickly soured, lips pursing together tightly… but she didn't slam the door in his face, so there was that.

"Emet-Selch. To what do I owe the…  _ pleasure _ of you paying me a visit?"

Awkwardly, he raised a hand in greeting, offering her an approximation of a smile in the hope that it would convince her that he wasn't here to trample her flowers or anything of the sort. "May I come in? I do not wish my words to reach idle ears."

A moment passed, then another, and Emet-Selch found that he had begun holding his breath again. But then, Halmarut squinted and moved to one side, wordlessly offering him access to her office.

Not letting her second-guess her decision, he immediately stepped inside, doing a quick once-over of the room as he moved. The furniture was much the same as the door, roots emerging from the floor and walls and twining together to form whatever Halmarut fancied, which happened to be the essentials for their jobs for the most part: a desk, a few chairs, a clock that seemed to work by a plant following the course of the sunlight filtering in from a window across the room. Where some people might have decorative knick-knacks in the form of potted plants or desk toys, flowers and fronds stretched up from those roots, providing an earthy, cozy little space. While not his style, the Architect in him couldn't help but be impressed.

Crossing the room, he easily settled into the nearest chair, finding the roots surprisingly comfortable as he slouched down. Halmarut sat in the chair behind the desk, gesturing expectantly with one hand.

"Well?"

His gaze dropped down to his hands, suddenly finding the act of twining his fingers together more appealing to look at than the Arbiter. "Well… this week is my and Hythlodaeus' anniversary. We have been together for… fifty years now, I am fairly certain." After a point, the days and months and years all blended together and he was well past that age. As such, Hythlodaeus was always the one who kept precise track of dates. "I would like to make it a special one for him. A date… dinner out somewhere…" He glanced up. "Flowers."

For a moment, Halmarut simply stared at him, expression quizzical. But then, she giggled, a noise that quickly grew to outright laughter, a hand lifting up to her mouth in a futile attempt to show some manners. "Is that all?! Is that really what you wished to keep from "idle ears"?!"

Oh, he was all-too grateful that his mask was in place considering he could feel the telltale heat in his cheeks as they flushed bright red. "I-I am not accustomed to this whole "relationship" thing, alright?!" Oh, he had certainly been with others before, but they had all been comparatively casual flings. All had left once they settled into the motions of their relationship, once the novelty of new love had worn off and all his quirks turned into aggravations… or they had seen how monstrous and terrifyingly powerful he was as a sorcerer in charge of the dead.

But this… this was different.

For just under fifty years now they had managed to stay together. Of course, they had the occasional spat here and there, but the fact that they were still together at all spoke lengths about Hythlodaeus’ patience with him… or, perhaps, how well their chaotic energies meshed with each other’s. In any case, their relationship was a lasting one.

And he wanted to keep it that way.

“My apologies!” Halmarut eventually managed to get out, still chuckling to herself a bit. “It is just… you act as though you must keep your relationship with Hythlodaeus a secret or something to that effect with how evasive and prickly you are when talking about it much of the time, despite the fact that  _ everyone  _ already knows you two are together.”

Oh right, his hands existed. Yes, still  _ very _ interesting to look at. “...Is it that obvious?”

“Emet-Selch, I am fairly certain that we all thought you two were an item before you even got together.”

Ah. Well, no real point in trying to dance around before eventually stumbling upon the topic at hand. Slowly, he raised his head, offering her a small smile. “Does that mean that you will help?”

The hand that had been covering her mouth moved to instead tap at her chin, her head tilting ever-so slightly to one side. “I do not know… it seems like it could be  _ such _ an inconvenience to do, especially out of the goodness of my own heart…”

Even though she was the Arbiter, she knew how to be shrewd when she had the opportunity for it. “What do you want?”

There was the softest gasp, dripping with mock surprise. “Emet-Selch asking how he can offer aid! My, you really  _ are _ lovestruck. Anyway, I have this idea for a creation and I am concerned that it might not meet your rigid criteria for approval. You see, most plants cannot defend themselves against threats, so I thought ‘Why not create a guardian for plants?’ I wished to make it as fearsome as possible, so I took some inspiration from Mitron and gave it a good many tendrils and massive jaws and horns in the shape of teeth. All I need to do is figure out some way of allowing it to ward off sentient creatures while leaving plants unharmed. Perhaps some sort of noxious secretion…”

“Consider it approved.” He said with a dismissive wave of his hand. While he would normally be loath to let anything inspired or created by Mitron through the process without intense scrutiny, he didn’t exactly have a choice here… and, quite frankly, he didn’t want to hear further of whatever horrifying creature Halmarut was thinking up.

“Oh, Emet-Selch, I knew you would warm to the idea!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly as she bounced up from her chair. “Expect the specifics to be delivered to your office in the near future. Anyway, to  _ my  _ end of the bargain… Follow me.”

Rising from his chair, he did just that, trailing after Halmarut as she left the room to take him on a winding path through the hallways outside of it. Right, left, left again, another right… Just as he thought they might be lost, she opened a large door to an indoor arboretum, domed ceiling made of the clearest glass to allow the sunlight to stream in from above. Contained within the vast room had to have been every different color and variety of flower he could imagine, and then some, plants whose names were unknown to him thriving beside daffodils and hyacinths, lilies and violets.

Halmarut, for her part, seemed to know precisely where she was going in the veritable forest of flowers and Emet-Selch made certain to trail close behind her, not wanting to lose track of her amidst the flowers. “Let us see… You will certainly want a bouquet for its looks, yes, but it also has to  _ mean _ what you wish for it to mean… Red chrysanthemums… a bunch of coral honeysuckle… pink hyacinths… orange ambrosias… and one, single red rose, all tied together with a garland of ivy.” At the start, she had created a pair of shears and, as she listed them off, she snipped the flowers she desired with the technique of an expert. Once they were all gathered, she arranged them so they were dispersed evenly and surrounding that one, single rose in the center, tying a strand of ivy around the stems to keep them together. Her work done, she delicately handed it over to Emet-Selch and, while he personally wasn’t one for flowers, he had to admit that it was a gorgeous arrangement.

“Here you are, flowers as fresh and beautiful as they will ever get. Do give my regards to Hythlodaeus when you hand them over… if he even gives you the chance to speak, that is.”

“I will make an attempt, at the very least.” He held the bouquet up to his face, idly sniffing the mixture of fragrances all the flowers were giving off. “You said that it has to mean what I wish for it to mean… so what do all these represent, then?”

“For the most part, they are symbols of love in one way or another. The chrysanthemums, honeysuckle, ambrosias, and the rose, of course. The hyacinths represent playfulness, something that most definitely applies to Hythlodaeus.”

Well, that explained the flowers themselves, but it left one last piece of the bouquet… “And the ivy?”

At first, Halmarut simply offered an innocent-looking smile and a shrug. “Perhaps Hythlodaeus has brushed up on his flower language. However, I really must be going; have to finalize that concept, after all! You two have an enjoyable date and dinner… and maybe more!” And, with a cheerful little wave, she hurriedly bolted off before he could try to ask about it again.

Well, he had gotten what he wanted out of this little meeting, so that was all he really cared about. Still, as he retraced her steps to leave the arboretum, he couldn’t help but continuously look down at the bouquet, glancing at that string of ivy that was tied firmly in a knot.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this and wanted to screech at me in a manner similar to socializing, then you can find my Twitter right [here](https://twitter.com/HippestGlitch).


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